William h



(No Model.)

-W. H. WOOD.

INSTRUMENT FOR ATTAGHING BUTTONS.

No. 352,214. Patented Nov. 9,1886.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

- WILLIAM H. WOOD, 'OF ROCHESTER, .NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR' TO THE WOOD AUTOMATIC BUTTON FASTENING COMPANY, OF SAME PLAOE.

' lowing is a full, clear, and exact description of lNSTRUMENT FOR ATTACHING- BUTTONS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,214, dated November 9, 1886,

' 7 Application filed March 18,1886. Serial No.195,757. N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. WOOD, of.

certain new and useful Improvement in Instruments for Attaching Buttons to Leather or Fabrics; and I do hereby declare that the folthe same, reference being had to the drawings accompanying this application.

My improvement relates to an instrument for attaching buttons to leather or cloth, in which an improved fastening is used of the kind shown in my patent dated March 25, 1884, and numbered 295,709. Said fastening is made from a single piece of wire, anduzonsists of a hook with a coiledbasc that forms a shoulder, and is shown in Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings.

The present invention consists of an instrument in the form of a pair of pinchers, constructed and arranged to take the button on the upper jaw and the hook or fastening on the lower one, and to automatically secure them to the leather or fabric by simply closing the jaws together, as hereinafter more fully described. 7

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation,

partially in section, of the instrument in the open position, thebutton being shown mounted on the upper jaw and the hook on the lower one, ready for attachment'to the leather. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the jaws closed and the button fastened to the leather. Fig. 3 is a top view of the front end of the-upper jaw, showing the socket in which the button rests, also the front end of the plunger for turning down the end of the hook. Fig. 4 is an enlarged top View of the slidein the lower jaw,

in which the hook rests. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the hook. Fig. 6'is an enlarged elevation of the. button and hook secured to theleather.

In the drawings, A and B indicate the two .5 jaws, crossed and pivoted together at a, and

the long arms extending back sufficiently far to be seized and operated by the hand. In the front end of the upper jaw is made asocket, b, Fig. 3, of sufficient size to receive and hold the button a, the eye of the button extending 'down and resting crosswise on a flat bed, (1, a

' little back of the socket, said eye standing in a somewhat inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1. Anarrow open-ended slot, j, extends back from the socket through the bed for the passage of the point of the hook as it comes up. The button rests in the socket and is carried down to meet the hook by the closingaction The hook is placed in the groove, standing with the pointed end upward toward the button, as shown in Fig. 1. The slide 0 may be operated by any desired means, that shown in the drawings being a pivoted cam, h, which is turned by the closing of the jaws, and pushes the slide forward, and a spring, 2', which draws the slide back when the jaws are opened.

D is a plunger resting in asooket of the upper jaw, and movable forwardand back by any suitable means, that shown in the drawings being a thumb-lever, E, having a cranked end, is, that extends down and rests in a slot of the plunger. The lever is retracted by a spring, m. The front-end of the plunger D is beveled off on top and made thin and rounded at the extremity, as shown at 8, while the bottom is made plain and straight.

The operation is as follows: The button and hook are placed in position, as before described, and the stripp, of leather or fabric, is placed between the jaws. The jaws are then closed. The first action is to drive the pointed end of the hook up through the leather. This is done before the hook receives any movement of its own. the jaws, acting on the slide, gives a turning movement to the book as it nears the button, and carries the end of the hook through the eye of the button, and when the jaws are fully closed on the leather the hook has fully turned, so that its endstands horizontally backward,

but raised some distance above the leather.

This turning motion of the hook is produced .by reason of the resistance it meets by resting A further closing of in the leather and the pushing action it receives by the outward movement of the slide, the cross-slot f acting as a shoulder against back movement of the book The button being thus attached to the hook, the next action is to press or flatten down the projecting end of the hook, so that it will bear on top of the leather and prevent escape of the button. This is done by forcing the plunger D forward. The plunger stands at a downward incline, and its pointed end, striking just above the projecting end of the hook, forces the end of the hook firmly down on the leather and beds the latter firmly between the point and base of the hook, as shown in Fig. 6.

The buttons and hooks are easily and rapidly applied. When the hook is placed in the grooves f f it receives slight pressure between the shoulders formed by the cross-groove f and a shoulder, r, of the jaw, by which means itis clamped and held preliminarily while passing through the leather, after which, by the pressure of the slide in its outward movement, the hook is forced up so as to turn, as before described.

This instrument is applicable for many different purposes where buttons are to be attached to leather or fabrics, but especially for attaching buttons to shoes.

If desired, instead of operating the jaws by hand, they may be operated by footpower in any suitable manner.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In an instrument for attaching buttons to leather or fabric, the upper jaw constructed with a socket to receive and hold the button, a flat bed to receive the eye of the button and hold it in position, and a slot to allow the passage of the hook as it rises to enter the eye of the button, as hereinbefore set forth.

2. In an instrument for attaching buttons to leather or fabric, the combination, with the 10 wer jaw provided with a socket, of a slide constructed with rightangled groovcs, one of which receives the base and the other the body of the hook, and a device to give motion to the slide as the jaws are closed, as set forth.

3. In an instrument for attaching buttons to leather or fabric, the combination, with the upper jaw constructed with a socket to hold the button, and with thelower jaw,of a slidein the lower jaw constructed with right angled grooves to receive the hook, whereby as the jaws are closed the hook is first caused to pierce the leather, and then is carriedinto the eye of the button by a turning movement ofthe hook, as set forth.

4. In an instrument for attaching buttons to leather or fabric, the combination of the slide provided with right-angled grooves to receive the hook, and a shoulder or stop on the outer end of the lower jaw at the end of the slot, whereby when the hook is seated it is clamped by the spring-pressure of the slide to hold it in place while passing through the leather, as set forth.

5. In an instrument for attaching buttons to leather or fabric, the combination, with the upper jaw provided with a socket to receive the button, and with the lower jaw, of aslidein the lower jaw provided with right-angled grooves to receive-and hold the hook, andaplungeiin the upper jaw for pressing the point of the hook down after it has entered the eye of 'thebutton, as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

XVILLIAM H. WOOD.

Vitnesses:

WM. J. McPHEnsoN,

R. F. OSGOOD. 

